Union targets miners in ad campaign over training

The construction union is launching a campaign to get mining companies in Western Australia to pay more for training, and to do so, it has teamed up with its old foe, the building industry.

The group says with extra funds for training there would be less of a need to bring in workers from overseas.

The CFMEU's state secretary Mick Buchan says their radio ads call on mining companies to do more.

"We need a contribution paid into a centralised training fund that's administered by the government of the day to see that that money is spent on kids for the future," he said.

"They rob the construction sector and the commercial construction sector and they should pay their way."

The issue has also been a concern for many builders.

The ABN Group's managing director, Dale Alcock, says his company loses nearly half of its tradespeople to the resources sector.

"The commencement of a mine is very much a large civil and construction works in itself and so to have an exemption from paying into the training levy just does not seem correct and our view is that it could well benefit the resource industry in the future by more funds being put into training," he said.

The Master Builders Association's director Michael McLean says the construction sector in Perth is currently going through tough times.

"The commercial and the residential sectors are probably about 30 per cent off their capacity whereas construction work in the mining and resource sector is really going through unprecedented levels of construction," he said.

"But, they're not actually contributing to the training of those same workers, whereas Mr and Mr Smith building their house in Widgiemooltha, they're actually contributing more in dollar terms to the training of those workers than the mining resource companies themselves and that's clearly inequitable."

The Chamber of Minerals and Energy says while heavy works at mine sites and processing facilities are exempt, companies do make contributions to the Construction Training Fund.

The chamber's director, Nicole Roocke, says miners have a strong commitment to specialised training, and do not see a need to pay more.

"It's factually incorrect to say that the resources sector does not contribute to the Construction Training Fund," she said.

"It certainly does so for the construction of houses, accommodation and commercial buildings, but not on any of the construction such as the actual mine sites nor process facilities."

Ms Roocke says the resources sector is fundamentally opposed to the imposition of the levy for the heavy and civil construction work that is done.

"What we don't think the conversation takes into account [is] the broader training effort that's done by industry," she said.

"It's misleading just to look at actual numbers or apprentices and trainees."

Ms Roocke says ABS figures show that people have also been moving from the mining industry into the construction sector.